The invention relates to a device for controlling the movement of a both motorically and manually movable vehicle part and a method for controlling the movement of a both motorically and manually movable vehicle part.
Such a device comprises a drive unit being controllable in its rotational speed for motorically moving the vehicle part, a coupling device for coupling the drive unit to the vehicle part, and a control unit. The control unit controls the drive unit and the coupling device such that, when manually moving the vehicle part, the drive unit is coupled via the coupling device to the vehicle part if the vehicle part has reached a predefined position.
To prevent the manually moved vehicle part—for example a vehicle door, a rear door, a sliding door or the like—hitting an end stop during an opening movement it is known to connect the moved vehicle part, for example the vehicle door, via a coupling device with a motoric drive unit within a drive train and to decelerate the vehicle part via the drive train. In dependence of the door speed, herein, the coupling is adjusted and a defined braking torque is generated to reduce the moving speed of the vehicle part before reaching the maximally opened position and to dampen the hitting of the vehicle part on the end stop. The coupling device is, for example, constituted as an electromagnetic coupling of the type of a disc brake. Herein, because of the slippage of the coupling device occurring within the coupling device usually an abrasion occurs, which makes a service of the coupling device in regular intervals necessary and has an influence on the system characteristics of the coupling device over its live span.
The coupling device can furthermore be used to fixedly hold the vehicle part, namely to hold it in its opened position. An electromagnetic coupling device herein comprises the disadvantage that for maintaining the coupling a permanent current supply is necessary such that the current supply system of the vehicle is continuously strained and a vehicle battery is emptied when the vehicle door is opened and held fixedly.
From WO 2007/071641 A1 a device and a method for controlling the closing movement of a manually movable vehicle part is known, in which the vehicle part during the closing movement, starting from the opened position, passes a first adjustment region in which the vehicle part is moved without engagement of a separate control means towards a closed position and subsequently passes a second adjustment region in which the closing movement of the vehicle part is controlled through the control means. The closing movement of the vehicle part, thus, only in the beginning is free and uncontrolled, whereas in the second adjustment region when approaching the closed position the closing movement of the vehicle part occurs in a guided manner such that an uncontrolled slam-shut of the vehicle part, for example a vehicle door, is prevented.